By Bonnie Washuk,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Maine senior citizens who are confused by a new Medicare drug benefit are invited to an informational meeting from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 24, at the Multi-Purpose Center on Birch Street. Medicare prescription drug specialist Amy MacMillan of SeniorsPlus will give an overview, then answer questions.

Enrollment in the program begins Nov. 15.

The meeting is being held at the request of the Lewiston legislative delegation. Two members, Sen. Peggy Rotundo and Rep. Margaret Craven, said they’re concerned seniors will not get the drug coverage they need because the new Medicare plan is so confusing.

“When I look at this plan, my eyes glaze over,” said Rotundo, who as co-chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee goes over many complicated programs in the state budget.

“There are so many variables people have to work through,” such as what medicine they’re taking, their income and assets. When the new plan begins, Maine’s Drug to the Elderly program will end, Rotundo said. Some Mainers will get less help with paying for their drugs, she said.

Craven said she became nervous after learning how complicated the program will be. “It’s overwhelming,” Craven said. “I’m worried people are going to die because they don’t get their meds.”

But Sue Goulet of SeniorsPlus in Lewiston said the new Medicare benefit is similar to what people now buy on the private market. It’s her job, she said, to help seniors find the best plan for them. Goulet and MacMillan are working with a Medicare grant to help seniors learn about the program and enroll, Goulet said.

When enrollment begins Nov. 15, seniors will have 18 or more plans to pick from. Each will have different premiums and co-payments. Which plan someone picks will depend on their individual incomes, assets and how many prescriptions they take.

“Someone might choose a plan that costs $10 a month with a $10 co-pay, or they may pick a $30 plan with $2 co-pay,” Goulet said. “We’ll look at the medications one by one, and recommend which would be the better plan” for each individual, she said.

Some in Congress are calling for Medicare Part D to be scrapped or postponed, in light of the cleanup cost of Hurricane Katrina and the spiraling national debt. “That’s just talk,” Goulet said. “The White House is committed to this program. The administration wants drug coverage for the elderly.”

In November, there will be huge media kickoffs offering information, Goulet said. Between now and then a number of informational meetings, like the one on Saturday, will continue in Oxford, Franklin and Androscoggin counties. “We’ve been doing 10 a week. We’ve even been to fairs.”

To find out about attending a meeting, or to get help understanding the Medicare plan from SeniorsPlus, people may call 795-4010 or go to www.seniorsplus.org on the Internet. Or they may go to the Office of Elder Services, formerly known as the Bureau of Elder and Adult Services, on the Internet at www.maine.gov/dhhs/beas/hiap.